Disir
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One day after the U.S. Supreme Court once again invalidated a Texas death sentence and bashed the state’s highest criminal court for its method of determining intellectual disability in death penalty cases, two key Republican lawmakers have signed on to a Democrat’s bill that would create a uniform process.
On Wednesday, state Reps. James White and Jeff Leach became joint authors to Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s House Bill 1139, which would establish a pretrial procedureto determine if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty. White chairs the House Corrections Committee, and Leach leads the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee.
“We’ve got to get to work here,” White, from Hillister, told The Texas Tribune after adding his name to the bill. “The Supreme Court — not once, but twice — stated that what we’re doing is not constitutional.”
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities was unconstitutional, but states were left to come up with their own methods of defining the condition. The Texas Legislature hasn’t taken action, instead putting the issue on individual courts, which have implemented varied methods for deciding the crucial question of whether a person should be spared from execution.
Often, prosecutors simply don’t seek the death penalty when there is a credible claim of intellectual disability. Other times, juries are told to weigh the issue after convicting someone of capital murder — when they’re deciding during a trial’s punishment phase between life in prison or death.
As filed, Thompson’s bill, which already had joint authors in Democratic Reps. Joe Moody of El Paso and Armando Walle of Houston and matches a bill by state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, would allow a capital murder defendant to request a hearing to determine intellectual disability before trial. If a judge determined the defendant was intellectually disabled — defined as having a low IQ with deficits in practical and social skills since youth — the death penalty would be taken off the table and the defendant would receive an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted.
After Texas' second Supreme Court loss in a death penalty case, reform bill lands key GOP support
It's unfortunate that this is what it takes to get movement.
On Wednesday, state Reps. James White and Jeff Leach became joint authors to Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s House Bill 1139, which would establish a pretrial procedureto determine if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty. White chairs the House Corrections Committee, and Leach leads the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee.
“We’ve got to get to work here,” White, from Hillister, told The Texas Tribune after adding his name to the bill. “The Supreme Court — not once, but twice — stated that what we’re doing is not constitutional.”
In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that executing people with intellectual disabilities was unconstitutional, but states were left to come up with their own methods of defining the condition. The Texas Legislature hasn’t taken action, instead putting the issue on individual courts, which have implemented varied methods for deciding the crucial question of whether a person should be spared from execution.
Often, prosecutors simply don’t seek the death penalty when there is a credible claim of intellectual disability. Other times, juries are told to weigh the issue after convicting someone of capital murder — when they’re deciding during a trial’s punishment phase between life in prison or death.
As filed, Thompson’s bill, which already had joint authors in Democratic Reps. Joe Moody of El Paso and Armando Walle of Houston and matches a bill by state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston, would allow a capital murder defendant to request a hearing to determine intellectual disability before trial. If a judge determined the defendant was intellectually disabled — defined as having a low IQ with deficits in practical and social skills since youth — the death penalty would be taken off the table and the defendant would receive an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole if convicted.
After Texas' second Supreme Court loss in a death penalty case, reform bill lands key GOP support
It's unfortunate that this is what it takes to get movement.
